By James Coulter
You know, there’s a joke about how all Mexican food is essentially the same thing: meat, veggies, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.
What are tacos? Meat, veggies, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.
What’s a burrito? Meat, veggies, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.
What are chimichangas? Meat, veggies, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.
Enchiladas are probably more unique. They’re meat, veggies, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla–and covered in either a red or white sauce.
Last weekend, I made enchiladas for the first time. I prepared both beef and chicken. I’m sharing the recipe for chicken enchiladas, since the beef enchiladas essentially just involve mixing ground beef with taco seasoning.
For the chicken enchiladas, I deviated from the recipe. Rather than season the shredded chicken with only salt, pepper, and adobo sauce, I seasoned it with lime and chili powder. The result was a more flavorful dish than simply adding salt and pepper.
Overall, these enchiladas were good, and the white sauce certainly added some flavor and moistness to the dish. This is certainly an easy dish to make over the weekend with beans and rice. It’s like going to a Mexican restaurant without going to a Mexican restaurant.
Creamy White Chicken Enchilada (from The Country Cook)
Ingredients
• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or mozzarella)
• salt, pepper, Adobo seasoning, to taste
• 10 flour tortillas (taco size)
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4-ounce can diced green chiles (do not drain)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken with 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese along with salt, pepper, and Adobo seasoning to taste.
3. Place chicken mixture into each of the 10 flour tortillas.
4. Roll them all up and place them in the prepared baking dish.
5. In a medium saucepan, melt 3 Tablespoons butter. Whisk in 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour and let cook and thicken for 1 minute (don’t let it burn).
6. Add 2 cups chicken broth and whisk until smooth.
7. Stir in 1 cup sour cream and 4-ounce can diced green chiles. Be sure not to let the mixture boil.
8. Take the sauce off the heat and pour it over the enchiladas.
9. Top with 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese.
10. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. If you’d like, you can turn the broiler on high and broil these for a minute or two until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
